Congress Adjusts Medicare Reimbursement

The Senate overwhelmingly approved a permanent fix to the reimbursement rates for Medicare providers, sending the measure to be signed by President Obama. If Congress had not acted, Medicare health care providers faced a 21% cut to their reimbursement. In addition to permanently fixing the reimbursement problem, the legislation extends the Children’s Health Insurance Program for two years, and extends the therapy cap exceptions process. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) offered an amendment to eliminate the therapy caps. The amendment failed by two votes to reach the 60 vote threshold needed to be included in the legislation. The bill also permanently extends the Qualified Individual (QI) program under the Medicare program, which helps low-income Medicare beneficiaries pay for premiums and permanently extends the Transitional Medical Assistance (TMA) program, which helps families on Medicaid maintain their coverage for one year as they transition from welfare to work.